This disclosure relates generally to turbomachine airfoils and, more particularly, to repairing or replacing airfoils using linear friction welding techniques.
As known, gas turbine engines, and other turbomachines, include multiple sections, such as a fan section, a compressor section, a combustor section, a turbine section, and an exhaust section. The compressor section and the turbine section include airfoil arrays mounted for rotation about an engine axis. The airfoil arrays include multiple individual airfoils (i.e., blades) that extend radially from a mounting platform to an airfoil tip. The blade arrays and mounting platform may form a one piece, integrally bladed rotor or bladed disk/blisk.
Air moves into the engine through the fan section. Rotating the airfoil arrays in the compressor section compresses the air. The compressed air is then mixed with fuel and combusted in the combustor section. The products of combustion are expanded to rotatably drive airfoil arrays in the turbine section. Rotating the airfoil arrays in the turbine section drives rotation of the fan and compressor sections. Airfoils in the gas turbine engine may become damaged. Replacing the damaged airfoils in a conventionally bladed rotor is relatively simple. Replacing the damaged airfoils in an integrally bladed rotor is often significantly more difficult (sometimes not feasible) and expensive.